ᴍᴀʏᴀ

"Auggie, you're gonna fall asleep before midnight, watch."

He sticks his tongue out at me and frowns. "No, I won't!"

I roll my eyes and grab the paper plates so we can set up for the party. We walk up the staircase to find Farkle and Lucas attempting to decorate the rooftop. They're arguing over where the punch stand should go, and Riley screams at them to shut up.

"Jeez," Farkle says. "Sorry."

"God, you and your girlfriend are scary," Lucas shivers.

I stare him down and he backs away. I laugh and shake my head

"Who exactly is coming?" he asks.

"Everyone who always comes?" I roll my eyes.

"How should I know? I just moved here," he laughs.

"Basically our whole grade."

He nods and we continue decorating the roof. After a good hour, we finally make it look presentable and a few kids start rolling in. 

Farkle and Riley go over and start talking to them. Lucas and I begin pouring drinks for everyone, and I end up spilling a little bit by accident.

"Maya, be more careful," he sighs.

"No," I deadpan.

He opens his mouth to say something but quickly closes it when I glare at him.

I look over at the stairs and see Charlie walking up with Auggie riding his back.

"Hey, Gardner," I call out.

"Hey, Hart," he smiles and puts Auggie down.

"What's up, Charlie?" Lucas says, doing some strange handshake with him.

I raise my eyebrows and slip away as they begin a conversation. More people are arriving and I look through the crowd for Riley.

"Hey, Maya," she smiles. "Did you tell him?"

"What? No, he just got here," I tell her. "Besides, what am I supposed to say? That I think he has a crush on me?"

"Yeah," she shrugs.

"It's not that simple, Riles, use your brain. At least you're cute," I roll my eyes and lean in for a kiss.

"Woah, wait," she whispers.

"Who cares if people see? Unless you aren't ready," I furrow my eyebrows.

"Can we at least tell my parents before letting our whole grade know? Not that it matters what they think, I'd just feel more comfortable," she quietly says.

"Whatever you want," I smile and give her a hug.

The rest of the night, I was avoiding Charlie. I really didn't know what to say and thankfully, he didn't talk to me either. Riley and I spent most of our time hanging out with Farkle and Auggie.

There are only 20 minutes till midnight and everyone was hanging out, filling the air with chatter and laughter.

Riley turns to me and gives me a look. "Come on, Maya, say something."

"That'll just make it weird! Besides, we're fine right now. He hasn't said anything, so why should I ruin our friendship by confronting him for something we aren't even sure about?"

"He hasn't said a word to you, and you're clearly avoiding each other. Go talk to him, please," she begs. "I don't want to start the New Year wondering if he likes you."

"Riley, even if he didn't like me, what's gonna happen? Are you still gonna feel weird about us hanging out together as friends?"

She doesn't reply and I sigh.

"Of course, I'll feel uncomfortable, but I don't care anymore. I really can't tell you who can or can't be your friend," she softly says. "But just talk to him, please?"

"Okay," I slowly say, standing up. I look around for Charlie, who's standing with Lucas and some other guys.

"Hey, Charlie," I tap his shoulder. "Can I talk to you?"

"Uh, sure," he says, turning to me.

I drag him on the empty side of the roof, away from everyone. I look at him and try to put my thoughts into words without straight up asking if he likes me.

"Can you tell me why you're acting so distant?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"I'm not," he quickly says. "I just never got around to hang with you, that's all."

I give him a look. "Charlie, stop lying."

"You're the one who was avoiding me the whole night, though," he raises his eyebrows.

"Because you were avoiding me!"

"Why would I avoid you?"

"Do you like me?"

His face goes blank and he averts his eyes from mine.

"Maybe a little," he says in a quiet voice. "But I shouldn't. You already have someone that you love and I'm not that person, which hurts but whatever."

"Charlie, you're such an amazing, sweet guy," I sincerely tell him. "You deserve someone who feels everything for you."

"Do I? The past two girls I've liked are literally dating each other now," he reluctantly laughs. "I'm gonna end up alone like Farkle."

I quietly laugh and shake my head. "You aren't gonna end up alone, okay? I've known you for years and at first, I never thought that I'd even like you. Now, you're one of my favorite people in the world right now. Someday, someone is gonna see that and you'll be hopelessly in love with whoever that is. It just won't be me..."

He slowly nods and gives me a small smile. "I'm sorry."

"For what? Don't be sorry," I smirk. "I'd have a crush on me, too."

He scoffs and raises his eyebrows. "Suddenly, my crush on you has vanished into thin air."

I roll my eyes and shove him. "Whatever, it can't go away that quickly."

"What if it never goes away?" he quietly asks.

"Do you want it to go away?"

"Yeah, of course," he groans. "I don't wanna like someone who's already in love. And you're my friend, too, I don't wanna lose a friend."

"You won't lose a friend, Charlie," I reassure him. "I'm always here. If you think staying away from me will help, then stay away. But I'll be waiting."

He nods and grins. "I think I'll be okay...so, friends?"

"Friends," I smile and give him a hug. "Except Riley might be a little jealous..."

"Noted," he says as we walk back to the crowd.

He waves and goes over to Lucas, who's hanging out with the baseball team. I walk over to Riley and she starts bombarding me with questions.

"Hey, how'd it go? Does he like you? Are you still friends? Wha-"

"Relax," I chuckle. "He likes me, but I think he knows that we can't be together. He still wants to be friends, so we're gonna try being friends...is that okay?"

"Okay," she hesitantly says.

"Are you sure?" I ask, unconvinced. "Riley, you know I love you and nothing will ever happen between me and him."

"I don't know...I'm just scared that you'll fall out of love with me or something and go for him."

"I could never fall out of love with you," I softly say.

She smiles and holds my hand.

"Guys, one more minute!" some guy from class says. 

I tug Riley to the other side of the roof where no one could see us. 

"Maya, what-"

"If you don't want anyone to see us together, then that's okay," I tell her. "But I still want to be your New Year's kiss. You make me the happiest person on the world, and I was so foolish to think that this would ruin our friendship because this...is all I've ever wanted."

Her face flushes and I softly caress her cheek. 

We hear everyone's faint counting down, and I slowly lean in.

3, 2, 1...

"I love you," I whisper before placing my lips on hers.

I feel her smile against my lips, and I pull her closer. 

She parts after a moment and leans her forehead on mine. "I love you."

"Forever," I smile at her.

"Forever."

the end?